COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 27: John Simon #54 of the Ohio State Buckeyes attempts to tackle quarterback Denard Robinson #16 of the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium on November 27, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

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In the first part of this series, I looked at Ohio State's offense, as well as the overall team outlook. In this part, I'll take a look at the defense, as well as the measurable parts of the special teams.

Ohio State has been the defensive class of the Big Ten throughout the decade. Even in down seasons when they have returned few starters, they have been in the upper echelons of the conference.

Between 2001-2010, OSU has twice failed to be among the top two in conference scoring defense (2003, when they were fourth; 2004, when they were fifth). This success has been despite Tressel's offensive background and going through three different defensive coordinators.

During that time, 39 Buckeye defenders have been drafted into the NFL—10 in the first round. I have not crunched the numbers, but I'd be willing to bet that Ohio State has had the most defensive players drafted this decade, not only in the Big Ten, but also in the nation.

However, as with everything else about this team, that success came during the Jim Tressel era. Will that same unparalleled success continue without him?

It is impossible to say, but with only four returning starters, new head coach Luke Fickell will have his work cut out for him.

Presumably, Fickell will stay true to the same defensive philosophy that has brought Ohio State success.

They will begin with a base 4-3, but will sometimes stand a defensive end in a modified 3-4. They also regularly employ a 4-2-5, with the fifth defensive back being what the Buckeye coaches call a "star," which is a safety-linebacker hybrid. They will probably employ the star a lot this season, because that is one of the few positions in the back seven where they have experience.

Ohio State will use both man and zone. More specifically, if the overall Ohio State defense has been exceptional, the defensive backs have been out of this world. In effect, the OSU cornerbacks can typically cover any receiver.

The Bucks have not been aggressive blitzers, but their talent and speed allow them to blitz from any formation on any down.

The end result of this is a defensive linemen-heavy 2011 recruiting class and a depth chart that will be littered with freshmen. As OSU likes to rotate its linemen, this could cause problems.

The likely starters are junior John Simon at strong-side end with senior Nathan Williams at the weak side. Sophomore, and 335-pound, Johnathan Hankins will play the nose, while junior Garrett Goebel or sophomore Adam Bellamy will be at defensive tackle.

Thomas, sophomore Melvin Fellows and redshirt freshman J.T. Moore will be a few of the key ends that vie for playing time. Meanwhile, the inside linemen will probably be senior utility man Evan Blankenship as well as a true freshman or two.

Simon is the best of the group. Last season, he played defensive tackle, where he might put in some time this season. Nonetheless, his main focus will be strong-side end. He will take over where Cam Heyward left off and only elite right tackles will have a chance of slowing him down. And even they might need help from a tight end.

Williams is a monster in the pass rush. Last season, he led the Buckeyes with 4.5 sacks. This season, he is expected to contribute even more. As with Simon, only elite left tackles are going to be able to beat Williams.

There is no question of their talents, but can they stand 50-60 downs per game? For that matter, as previously mentioned, the Ohio State line will probably be depending upon a number of young faces to spell the top players. This is something that has not happened for a while. Are they up to it?

Overall, the starting ends will be among the best in the conference. The starting defensive tackles will be solid at worst. The questions concern depth and how the starters hold up late in the game if the Bucks rotate less than they have in the past.

Andrew Sweat is Ohio State's lone returning starter at linebacker. He will move to the strong-side spot, which was formerly played by all-conference Ross Homan.

The other two spots will probably be played by either juniors Storm Klein or Etienne Sabino, or sixth-year senior Tyler Moeller.

Sweat went into 2010 behind Sabino as the favorite to win the third linebacker position, but in the end, he came out on top. He is arguably a better athlete than Homan and he is more comfortable at the strong side than last season's weak side.

Klein is another talented backer that played mostly in garbage time last season. The thing is, when you're OSU, there is a decent amount of garbage time to go around. At the very least, enough to accumulate the second-most tackles of any non-starter. If Sabino doesn't fully grasp his responsibilities at MLB, Klein will.

Moeller is the most intriguing of the candidates. His career has been fraught with injuries, among other things, that have kept him from living up to his potential. He came into last year as the starting STAR, but a torn pectoral muscle ended his season early.

Having been granted a sixth year of eligibility, he has been rehabbing and could push for a linebacker position or the STAR, depending upon where he is physically. He is a bit small for a standard linebacker (currently listed as 6'0", 210 lbs.), but he is known for his activity level and hitting ability.

Either way, expect to see Moeller on the field. The question is where.

As with the defensive line, there are no questions concerning the starters. The issues concern depth. With Dorian Bell's suspension and Jonathan Newsome's transfer, odds are pretty good that Ohio State will have some true freshmen sprinkled into the depth chart.

In retrospect, given the depth issues, my Big Ten position group ranking might have been a tad generous. On the other hand, even without Tressel, Ohio State has a recent track record of extraordinary success on defense, and that has to be taken into account.

As previously noted, Ohio State's record with the secondary under Jim Tressel has been phenomenal. The Bucks have sent 14 defensive backs to the NFL draft over that time—three have gone in the first round.

Clarke was thrown into action in last season's Sugar Bowl, following a wrist injury to Chekwa. He performed admirably against the seventh-ranked passing offense in the country. Clarke has to be considered the favorite to win the job, but Allen and Roby will have something to say about that.

The one full-time starting defensive back that will return this season is junior Orhian Johnson. Johnson came to Ohio State as a quarterback and was still learning the safety position when he was thrust into a starting role last season. He improved as the season progressed and he will have the inside track at starting free safety.

Other safeties that will vie for playing time include sophomores Corey Brown, Christian Bryant and Jamie Wood, along with a number of freshmen.

Bryant is the most intriguing of the backups. He came to OSU as a cornerback, but the coaches wanted to get him on the field. They moved him, as there were more opportunities at safety. Now, Bryant is pushing hard for either a safety or the star position.

As for the star, it could be Moeller, if he doesn't make a full-time move to linebacker. Or, the coaches could go a different direction than they have in the past by putting Bryant—who is more of a pass defender than a small linebacker—in there.

In closing, there is, as usual, tons of talent in the Buckeye backfield. If Tressel were still the coach, I'd be more willing to give the secondary the benefit of the doubt. As things stand, this bunch will have to prove itself.

Place kicker Devin Barclay has graduated, but sophomore Drew Basil will take his place.

Last season, Basil handled kickoffs and long field goals. He went 0-for-2 on field goals, with both of them over 50 yards and both of them blocked.

Assuming Basil can get his kicks up, he may not manage Barclay's 20-for-24, but he should be acceptable.

The punter is junior Ben Buchanan. Last season, he had 42 punts and averaged 41.02 per punt—good enough for eighth in the Big Ten. That is not bad, but improvement would help out the defense tremendously.